[access-uk] Re: USB hard drives

  • From: "Clive Pallett" <clive.pallett@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Mon, 5 Jan 2009 01:43:57 -0000

Hello Alexander,

The following was sent to me some time ago.  I have used this method to 
convert USB flash drives to the NTFS format with no problems.
Hope this helps you and others on the list.

Best wishes,

Clive Pallett


Windows XP: Converting To NTFS

Switching your file system to NTFS enhances stability and provides a cluster
of features not found in any version of FAT. Here, Dave Cook shows you how to 
convert
painlessly.

When your computer stores a file on disk, it saves the file into tens or
even hundreds of contiguous clusters. If it can't save all clusters 
contiguously then the
remaining clusters will be stored in the next available space. The result is 
that
clusters belonging to just one single large file can end up scattered all over 
your
disk.

The File Allocation Table (FAT) tracks how files are distributed among the
clusters on a disk. So that your computer knows where to find these clusters 
quickly,
it creates a FAT entry for every new file stored.
FAT32 is the most recent FAT file system. It's more efficient than earlier
FAT versions because it supports smaller cluster sizes and larger disk 
capacities.
Like FAT, the NTFS file system has been around for some time. However, the
Windows 2000/XP version of NTFS is easily the best yet. It provides better 
security
and reliability, along with several advanced features not found in any version 
of FAT or
previous NTFS file system.

Which Is Better?

The majority of Windows XP computers are configured to use the FAT32 file
system.  While FAT32 carries certain limitations, it's a good choice if you're
running a dual-boot configuration. That's because Windows 95/98/Me can't 
recognise NTFS volumes.
Also, some very old applications may not work with NTFS.
On the other hand, NTFS offers the following advantages over FAT32:

·          Recovery.
 NTFS volumes can recover from disk errors more readily than FAT32 volumes.
If a system fails, NTFS uses log file and checkpoint information to restore a 
file system.
·          Security.
 NTFS volumes allow you to restrict access to files and folders using 
permissions.
Windows XP Professional users can also use file encryption to protect data.
·          Expansion.
 Storage can be expanded on existing drive letters without having to 
repartition or reformat. Disk capacities up to 16 terabytes (256 terabytes 
with
tweaking) are supported.

It's easy to discover which file system your Windows XP operating system uses. 
Simply
right-click the drive icon in the My Computer window (or a volume in the Disk 
Management window) and choose Properties.

Converting to NTFS

Everyone is given the option to use NTFS when upgrading or performing a
clean install of Windows XP. But what happens if you're running a 
pre-installed version of
Windows XP? Can you later change to NTFS? Thankfully, the answer is yes - you 
can
use the "convert" utility to change from FAT32 to NTFS.
Be warned, though, that converting to NTFS is one-way only. Once executed,
there's no way to revert back to FAT32 without reinstalling Windows XP. Also,
although the convert process is non-destructive (files are kept intact), we 
highly
recommend that you backup your important data beforehand.
To find out more about the convert utility, click Start, Run, type
CMD, and then hit ENTER
. In the command window, type
HELP CONVERT, and then press ENTER
. This brings up a range of information along with the various switches you 
can use when initiating the command. For example, advanced users can use the
/CVTAREA switch to prevent fragmentation of the master file table.
When you're ready to convert, click Start, and point to
ALL PROGRAMS, ACCESSORIES, and then click COMMAND PROMPT.
Then to convert the C: drive, for example, to NTFS, type:
CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS
 and hit the ENTER key.
Note that if the C: drive holds the system files or a page file then
conversion won't occur until you restart Windows. This is perfectly normal. 
You can, of
course, convert
other drives to NTFS from within Windows if the drive in question is not in
use.
Assuming you're converting a system drive, after you restart the computer a
prompt will warn you that conversion is about to begin. If you haven't 
cancelled
the conversion after 10 seconds then Windows will run the Check Disk utility 
and perform
the conversion automatically. Your computer will restart twice during this 
process.

It's A Doddle

On completion, your drive will be using the NTFS file system, rather than 
FAT32.
It's as simple as that!



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